


Resurrection and Ruin

by saiditallbefore



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - the Empire Never Fell, Dubious Consent, F/M, Some Hux/Rey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 04:40:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15789153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saiditallbefore/pseuds/saiditallbefore
Summary: Rey hardly had to consider it.  She’d take a deal with a monster over a cold cell and certain death any day.  “Deal,” she said, her hand extended.Kylo took her bare hand in his gloved one, and shook.When Rey, a smuggler awaiting her imminent execution, is approached by Kylo Ren with a deal that could save her life, she has no choice but to take it— even when that deal involves seducing and ruining Kylo Ren’s mortal enemy, General Armitage Hux.





	Resurrection and Ruin

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Unconventional Courtship 2018, based loosely on this summary as a prompt:
> 
> The Harlot- Saskia Walker  
> It is a Dark Era, one when a lusty lass will do what she must to survive. Even if it means bartering flesh for a palmful of coins. . .  
> Forced to watch her mother burn at the stake, Jessie Taskill knows the danger of the gift she inherited - a powerful magic that must stay hidden. Until one night when she's accused of witchcraft and Jessie finds herself behind prison walls, awaiting certain death with a roguish priest unlike any man of the cloth she has known. In reality, Gregor Ramsay is as far from holy as the devil himself, but his promise of freedom in return for her services may be her salvation. Locked into a dubious agreement, Jessie resents his plan to have her seduce and ruin his lifelong enemy. But toying with Gregor’s own lust for her is enjoyable, and she agrees to be his pawn while secretly intending to use him just as he is using her. . . .
> 
> Thank you to wishonadarkstar for being such a great cheerleader for this project!

Rey slumped against the cell walls. She had imagined that she might end up in jail one day— she’d hardly been the most law-abiding of the Empire’s citizens— but she’d never imagined it would be for this.

Whatever this was.

She stood up straight and strode over to the cell door, staring intently at the lock. Sometimes she could just... _make_ things do what she wanted. It was a knack she had. And sure, it was what had landed her here in the first place, but this _knack_ had gotten her out of more than one tight spot in the past.

She screwed up her nose in concentration, staring at the lock as hard as she could.

Okay, so it didn’t always work. Can’t count on luck to save you.

Rey was ready to go back to pacing her cell when she heard the tell-tale noise of a door opening down the hall. Whoever this was, they had to be here for her— she was the only prisoner in this sector.

"Time for my execution already?" she asked, hoping her voice carried the right amount of bravado.

"No need to sound so eager." Instead of the usual guards, Kylo Ren entered her field of view. He was taller in person, and just as inhuman, with his features concealed behind his mask and robes.

She knew of Kylo Ren, of course. Anyone who had ever seen a holo knew of Kylo Ren— he was the Emperor’s right hand, his attack dog, his favorite weapon. He was the grandson of Darth Vader— a monster descended from a monster.

"What are you doing here?" Rey asked. Maybe that was too abrupt. Maybe she was supposed to bow or address him as Master Ren or something. But she was a scavenger-turned-smuggler, currently in prison awaiting execution for a crime she didn’t really understand. She wasn’t interested in niceties. 

Kylo Ren stood in front of her, and Rey got the impression that he was evaluating her. Finally he said, "I have a proposition for you."

Rey felt her eyebrows raise, almost of their own accord. "I’m sorry?"

Kylo sighed. "That’s not— Listen. There is a... colleague of mine who I would like to see ruined. He keeps his private life quite—"

"Private?" Rey interrupted.

"Indeed." Kylo seemed to be gathering his thoughts. "You are— you are not unattractive. And with your abilities, I am quite certain you could find your way into his quarters."

 _My abilities?_ Rey was about to ask, but before she could open her mouth, Kylo forged on.

"If you can complete this task for me, I will see to it that all charges against you are dropped. Permanently."

Rey hardly had to consider it. She’d take a deal with a monster over a cold cell and certain death any day. "Deal," she said, her hand extended.

Kylo took her bare hand in his gloved one, and shook.

* * *

_The Finalizer_ was an impressive ship. Well, of course it was— it was the Empire’s newest flagship. 

Still, even the little Rey had seen— the airlock, the hallways, and the room Kylo had left her in— were enough to make her want to open up the panelling and see how the ship had been put together. But that would probably be frowned upon, and with the stormtroopers placed on her door, she didn’t want to push the boundaries.

Besides, she had more important things to think about— like how she was going to get out of here.

Kylo Ren would have to loosen her leash when he sent her to seduce his rival. Maybe she could steal a ship and get out of here. It would take some time, but surely Kylo would understand that espionage was slow going.

She pictured herself telling Kylo Ren to be patient.

Maybe she’d need a better plan.

The door whooshed open, and Rey whirled around. Kylo Ren stood in the doorway, a datapad in his hand.

"I have information here on General Hux," he said.

"Your... colleague?" Rey asked, recalling the word he’d used.

Kylo nodded jerkily, and Rey took the datapad from him. She swiped through a few screens, taking in the images of a red-haired man in a crisp Imperial uniform. There was nothing to distinguish him from any other Imperial she’d run across over the years, except for his rank. 

Abruptly, she realized that Kylo was still watching her. "Thank you," she said. "This will be helpful."

"It will?" Kylo cleared his throat. "I mean. Good. That’s good." He turned on his heel.

"Wait," Rey called. Kylo stopped, but he didn’t turn around. Rey continued, "You said something, earlier. About my abilities."

He turned slowly, and cocked his head slightly. "You don’t know." There was a note of— curiosity? Or was that wonder? in his voice.

Rey crossed her arms. "Know what?"

"Who you are." Kylo Ren had long legs, and it took him only a few strides to be directly in front of her again. "You have the Force, Rey." He reached for her, but stopped himself before he touched her. "If we’d found you when you were a child, you could have been trained properly. But—" He pulled himself away and shook his head.

Rey didn’t need him to finish that sentence. She knew what he would say next. So she just watched, silently, as Kylo left the room.

At least she finally knew why she’d been arrested. Use of the Force was highly restricted, and had been for over fifty years. Only the Emperor and a few of his specially-selected and trained guards and assassins were allowed to use it. Anyone else caught using the Force was imprisoned and executed.

And it certainly would explain a _lot_.The way Rey had preternaturally good aim, the way she was a little too good at reading people, the way locked doors had never managed to keep her in...

And it wasn’t going to do her any good here, up against a trained Force-user. Especially if she wanted to wheedle more information about the Force out of him.

With nothing else to do, Rey lounged on her bed— a real bed, which made for a nice change from the cell— and continued to skim the information on the datapad.

Well, to tell the truth, she tried to use it to access the holonet or to send a message first, but Ren had clearly anticipated this. She couldn’t access anything but the information on General Armitage Hux— mostly figures on battles and losses, and on his effectiveness as a leader. It didn’t seem particularly useful, but neither did a power coupling, until you were missing one.

And that was just her luck, wasn’t it, to be pulled into a job that involved seducing a mark named _Armitage._

* * *

Rey passed the next three days in utter boredom. She was locked in and heavily guarded, with nothing obvious on hand she could use for a weapon. By the end of the first day, she’d begun trying to pry the panel next to the door off. If she could remove that, she could rewire the locks and open the door herself. 

She’d still have a dozen other problems, but at least she wouldn’t be stuck in another prison cell.

This plan was derailed on the third day, though, by Kylo Ren’s abrupt entrance.

"We’ll be rendezvousing with Hux soon," he said. He paused, and Rey once again wished he wasn’t wearing a mask— this would be easier if she could read his expressions. "We’ll need to get you new clothes."

Rey didn’t ask what was wrong with her clothes. They were made for work, not for seduction and espionage. 

Well, she was making a few assumptions. But she certainly wasn’t going to say no to new clothes. "Fine," she said. "You never told me, by the way— what’s my cover?"

"Your cover?" Kylo repeated.

"Well, I assume if you could just hire a professional for this, you would. So General Hux would probably have some questions if you presented me to him without any other explanation." A thought occurred to her, and she bit her lip. "Does Hux even like human women?"

"Hux doesn’t like anyone," Kylo shot back. "There’s going to be a... get-together tonight. A... party." He spat the word out like it tasted bad. "I’m sure you’ll be able to blend in."

The unspoken threat hung in the air. 

Rey smiled. "Then you’d better make sure I’m dressed to impress."

Kylo didn’t reply, but then, Rey hadn’t expected him to. Instead, he strode through the hallway, his black cape fluttering behind him. Rey hurried to keep up, taking two steps to every one of his.

They weren’t alone, of course. Stormtroopers marched up and down the halls, patrolling or on their way to their posts. But when they saw Kylo Ren, they jumped to the side of the corridor and stood, saluting, until he and Rey passed.

It wasn’t long before Kylo stopped in front of an apparently innocuous door. When he opened it, Rey gasped.

She’d assumed he would give her a uniform of some sort: something that would help her fit in with the other Imperials. She hadn’t expected _this_.

A nervous-looking woman with pale pink hair— _natural or dyed_ , Rey wondered— stood inside, surrounded by clothes of a quality that Rey had only seen from a distance, or imagined. The clothes, made of glittering, silky, delicate fabrics, were draped all around the furniture, or hung up on movable stands. There was a single full-length mirror, placed next to a privacy screen. 

The woman bowed. "I hope this is suitable, Lord Ren."

Kylo gestured for Rey to enter the room. She did so, hesitantly. Even though her hands were clean, she felt too dirty to touch clothes like that.

"She needs to look suitable for the celebration tonight, in honor of our victory at Eshan. I trust you can manage that?" There was an undercurrent of threat in his voice, and Rey had to fight not to laugh. It struck her as absurd, somehow, that the Emperor’s right-hand man was threatening a dress designer.

On that note, Kylo left. 

Rey felt an urge to apologize to the woman, but why bother? She’d agreed to be here, on business for the Empire. Probably she was even being paid, unlike Rey.

Instead, Rey began to poke through the piles of clothing the woman had brought. Nothing in bright colors— maybe those were improper for an Imperial party or something. It was mostly black and white and silver. And while there were plenty of white skirts or tops or pants, there were no white dresses. (She did know the reason for that: she’d seen old holo footage of the Rebel leaders.)

She hesitated over a black dress with a deep neckline and covered in sparkly bits. 

"Oh, not that one," the woman said. "It would look just fine, of course, but you need something else." She reached for the bottom of a particular pile, and pulled out a red dress— the first one in that color Rey had seen.

"I think this will suit you best," the woman said, holding it up to Rey’s body. She shooed Rey off behind the privacy screen, and Rey tried it on.

It was certainly fancier than anything Rey had worn before. The bodice was tightly fitting, clinging to her bust. It reflected the light gently, with a silky sheen, but without any of the extra sparkly bits or baubles she’d seen on some of the other dresses. Meanwhile, the skirt was made of layers of diaphanous material, swishing around her legs in a pleasing way. If she moved just right, she could expose her legs between the layers. If she moved differently, she could be covered all the way to her ankles, where the last of the skirt’s layers ended.

Rey glanced at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t entirely transformed— her plain face and hair were still her own, after all— but it was strange to see herself dressed like this.

The dress designer laughed with delight, and Rey spun around. 

"I knew it would look perfect on you," the other woman said. "Just—" She opened up a box that Rey had not noticed before, and searched through it intently. Rey crept closer, curious to see what the woman was doing. 

"You can’t go to the celebration with your hair like that," the designer said. "You don’t need cosmetics— although don’t think I’m letting you escape without them— and I think I’ve got just the right bracelet for that dress."

Rey was beginning to feel like she’d been caught up in a sandstorm: blinded, confused, possibly in danger of being suffocated or buried alive.

"You really don’t—" Rey began.

The other woman looked alarmed. "Lord Ren asked that I make you look your best for this celebration."

At that, Rey had to acquiesce. 

The next time she glanced into the mirror, she had been transformed. Her hair had been taken out of the buns she usually wore and was instead curling gently around her shoulders. Her eyelids had been darkened, and her lips had been painted a bright red to match her dress. And on her arm, she wore a single silver cuff just above the elbow.

She’d gotten dressed up before, usually for jobs but— this woman in the mirror was a stranger. She didn’t look like she was playing a part; she looked like she belonged in these clothes.

 _Focus_ , Rey told herself. _Mind on the mission._

She wasn’t about to let Kylo Ren send her back to prison, to await her execution.

No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than the door opened again, and Kylo Ren stood, waiting.

Rey swallowed her nerves. "Well?" she asked, spinning around slowly to let him get the full effect. "Do you think this will do?"

"I-" Kylo cleared his throat. "Yeah. I think it’ll work." He swallowed.

 _Interesting_. Rey filed away a note of that reaction. She might be able to use that.

* * *

Rey hadn’t been sure what to expect from this "celebration." After all, Kylo Ren had barely deigned to describe it. 

In some ways, it was exactly like other parties she’d infiltrated in the past on jobs. Only, she’d usually been dressed as part of the staff then, and she never would have tried to get to a mark while they were actually inside of an Imp base. Still, the principles were the same: fancy clothes, fancy food, fancy people. Lots of talk about politics and money and other things she’d never bothered to pay much attention to— she’d always figured it didn’t matter much who was in charge; they’d all want to arrest her anyway.

But this party wasn’t just different because it was on Starkiller Base. It was filled with high-ranking Imperial officers and their families, as well as with politicians and representatives of various entities the Empire had a stake in. It would be easy for her to blend.

She hoped.

General Hux was easy to spot, but she didn’t try to approach him straightaway. No point in being _too_ obvious. Instead, she sampled the food and the drinks, danced a bit, flirted a bit, and tried to ignore the pointed looks being cast in her direction by Kylo Ren.

Well, she assumed they were pointed looks. Honestly, that mask.

Finally, after Rey had gotten tired of sampling tiny finger foods, she contrived to bump into General Hux and make it look like an accident. 

She collided with his chest, causing him to drop his drink— luckily not on her— and began to babble, hoping she sounded appropriately embarrassed. "Oh, I’m so sorry— I wasn’t looking where I was going— I can be so terribly clumsy—"

"It’s nothing," General Hux ground out.

"Let me make up for it," Rey offered. "I’ll get you another drink."

Hux quirked an eyebrow. "You realize the drinks are free."

Rey laughed despite herself. "You caught me," she said. "I’m secretly quite cheap."

Hux didn’t smile, exactly. But the muscles in his face relaxed a smidgen, and he extended an arm to Rey.

She looped her arm in his. "I’m Rey, by the way," she offered. "Rey Junari, of Chandrila." Her first name was common throughout the galaxy, and Chandrila was a Core World securely controlled by the Empire. Frankly, it was one of her more solid cover identities.

"General Armitage Hux," he replied. "Commander of the First Fleet." His smile was sharp, and despite herself, Rey felt a shiver run down her spine. General Hux might not have the Force at his command, but in his own way, he was every bit as dangerous as Kylo Ren.

* * *

They left via a side corridor. It only took a few minutes before Hux was kissing her up against a wall— although kissing seemed too gentle a word for what they were doing.

"Oh— oh, Hux," Rey breathed, as his lips travelled along her neck.

It struck her that he was the kind of man who might insist upon being called "General" in bed, but she didn’t think she could bring herself to do that. Luckily, he either didn’t mind his surname or was too enthralled with her breasts to protest. 

They broke apart, with Hux muttering something about "inappropriateness," as he attempted to straighten his uniform before leading her further down the maze of corridors to his quarters.

Rey’s beautiful new dress was quickly discarded on the floor, followed by Hux’s carefully-pressed uniform. And although she had told herself not to have any expectations— this was a job, after all— Hux was far less uptight than his buttoned-up exterior and pristine military record would have led her to believe.

She raked her fingernails down his chest, and he moaned into her shoulder, his teeth catching her skin. Hux wasn’t muscular, exactly, but lucky for her, he wasn’t as weedy as he looked in that uniform. 

He circled his thumb around her nipple. As it hardened, and arousal pooled in her body, Rey let out a moan.

She stroked his cock a couple of times, and climbed on top of him. She smiled at Hux in a way she hoped was both sexy and inviting, and guided his cock inside her. She gave herself a moment to get used to the sensation, then set a steady, teasing rhythm. 

Quickly frustrated by her pace, Hux flipped them both over and began fucking her relentlessly.

She was already close to coming, so when Hux moved one of his hands down and started playing with her clit, she was lost immediately. She moaned, scraping her fingernails along his shoulders and back as she rode out her orgasm. Shortly after Rey came to, Hux spent himself in her, and they rolled apart.

He didn’t demand that she leave immediately after they were finished— for the final time— which was certainly helpful for her purposes. 

After Hux had drifted off, Rey crept out of his bed.

She began with what she assumed would be the quickest part of the process: riffling through his desk and nightstand drawers, searching his files and belongings for something interesting.

Or something, at least. Quite frankly, she wasn’t sure what kind of information Kylo Ren would be interested in. Hux was hardly a morally upstanding citizen, but most Imperials didn’t care about that. Whatever Kylo Ren was looking for, it would have to be something unusual. Something personal, or bad enough to destroy a promising career. 

But whatever she was looking for, it wasn’t to be found among Hux’s physical belongings. He kept his things organized with the same amount of military precision that he used in... well, military action.

Well, she hadn’t really expected anything. Very few people stored incriminating information in physical form; that was what datapads were for. 

So she slipped Hux’s datapad off of his desk and turned it on, keeping the blue glow of the holoscreen dimmed and tilted away from Hux’s sleeping form. 

He kept it locked with a code. Decryption wasn’t Rey’s specialty— not even close— but she knew a thing or two. It took her more time than she would have liked to get through that simple code, but Hux remained sound asleep.

She began flipping through the files. A few looked potentially interesting— if not for Kylo Ren, than for herself. Information was always valuable. 

She pulled a tiny datastick out of her hair, where she’d tucked it earlier. Luckily, it hadn’t fallen out of her hair during her earlier _activities_. She plugged the datastick in to the datapad, and began downloading files that looked potentially interesting. She didn’t have time to read all of them now; that would have to wait until morning. 

And finally, Rey was certain she had searched all of Hux’s belongings for anything that could, in Kylo Ren’s words, "ruin" Hux. She ensured everything had been put back exactly as she had found it— or at least, as best as she could remember. And then, she climbed into bed next to Hux, datastick tucked in her discarded clothes, her heart racing. 

She didn’t sleep much that night.

* * *

Rey managed to slip away from Hux without too much awkwardness in the morning. She didn’t really know where her room was in relation to Hux’s, but she still did her best to march down the corridors like she did.

She was half-expecting Kylo Ren to track her down and escort her back, so she was only half-surprised when a pair of stormtroopers appeared on either side of her.

"Lord Ren wishes to see you," the one on her right said.

Rey sighed. "Yeah, I figured."

They led her back onto the _Finalizer_ — still docked in the hangar bay— and to the room Rey had begun to think of as "hers" over the last few days.

Kylo Ren was there, waiting for her. After the stormtroopers had left the room, Rey dug into her cleavage to retrieve the datastick. He was still wearing that mask, so she couldn’t tell if his eyes were following her, but she chose to believe that they were.

Fancy dresses like this weren’t designed for women who had to carry things around— probably the women who normally wore them had servants to carry anything they needed. Getting this kind of attention was the only side benefit of looking like she was a pretty doll. If she ever had to dress up like this again, she was going to sew pockets into her dress.

"Did you find anything?" Kylo asked.

Rey barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she waved the datastick in his direction. "Maybe. I have to take a better look at these files."

Kylo huffed, and began to storm out. 

Rey caught him by his wrist. He spun around, the air crackled with power, and she was forcefully reminded that here, in front of her, was Darth Vader’s successor.

She took a shaky breath. _Why is this so important?_ she didn’t ask. Instead, she said, "What am I looking for? You said something that could ruin him, but—"

"Don’t play stupid," Kylo growled. "I’m sure you’ll be able to identify the sort of thing that will derail a career. Something the Emperor would take seriously."

Rey swallowed. This was already more politics than she liked to play with, and now Kylo was dragging in the Emperor? 

_It’s okay,_ she told herself. _All you have to do is stall. Just get out of this room, get a ship, and you’re in the clear._

The sense of power in the room had subsided now.

"I would rather you didn’t try to leave on your own," Kylo added. "If you stay, I can teach you about the Force— how to use it, how to control it."

"Who says I want to learn from you?" Rey asked.

"I’m sure we would both prefer that you don’t repeat your mistakes." Kylo Ren left, his cloak swishing behind him.

Rey curled up on her bed. It was hard not to repeat her mistakes when she wasn’t entirely sure what her mistakes were. She wasn’t sure exactly what had gotten her arrested in the first place. Or maybe agreeing to work for Kylo Ren had been a mistake. Maybe that entire last job had been a mistake. Maybe leaving Jakku and becoming a smuggler had been a mistake. 

For one, brief moment, she allowed herself to feel some self-pity. Then she showered, dressed in something more comfortable, and started reading the files she’d downloaded the night before.

* * *

Rey woke to the sound of her door opening, and realized she’d fallen asleep while trying to work.

Although she couldn’t read Kylo Ren’s expression, he was radiating disapproval as he stood at the foot of her bed and looked at her.

"I haven’t found anything," she said. "And I was a little tired after all of that... _work_." 

He turned away. 

Rey wondered if he was blushing. For a man who hired a convict to seduce and ruin his apparent nemesis, he certainly was easily embarrassed.

"That’s not—" Kylo cleared his throat. "I’m not here about that. Yet."

Rey raised an eyebrow. 

He took a step closer to her. "I told you that you needed to be trained in the Force."

Rey, feeling off-balance already, stood and crossed her arms. "When did I agree to that?" Sure, it would be useful, but she hardly needed to be more indebted to Kylo Ren.

"Rey," Kylo began. He paused, apparently at a loss. Then he placed his hands on either side of his mask, and removed it, tossing it aside.

Rey’s breath caught in her throat. She’d never heard of anyone who had seen Kylo Ren without his mask.

He placed his hands on her shoulders. "It is unthinkable that you have gone this long without being detected. The amount of promise you show— it is being squandered."

Normally she would have scoffed, or accused him of manipulating her. And part of her wanted to do those things now, but it was hard to do so when he was looking at her with those earnest dark eyes.

Maybe that was the real reason he wore a mask all the time: because his expressions were shamefully open and honest, and he would never have survived so long in Imperial politics otherwise.

She closed her eyes, for just a moment, and tried to think. The Force— if that was what it was— had gotten her out of a lot of scrapes in the past. Maybe if she learned better control, she wouldn’t have to depend quite so much on luck.

"Okay," she said. "Okay."

* * *

They began by sitting on the floor, eyes closed. Their legs were crossed, their knees just brushing. 

"The Force is in everything," Kylo said. "But it shines in some people more brightly more than others. The Force creates us, and binds us, and with enough practice, we can control it. We can bend it to our will."

As he spoke, Rey _saw_. Just a glimpse, but that glimpse gave a form to something she’d sensed her whole life, if only on a smaller scale. Light and darkness, twining together, creating and destroying the universe. 

The universe was so much bigger than she’d ever known, and she was part of it. Everyone and everything was part of it, inextricably bound together by the Force.

When she opened her eyes, they were wet with tears.

"I’m sorry," she said.

"Don’t be." Kylo smiled, just a little. "It’s amazing, isn’t it?"

"It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen," Rey said, touching her hand to his knee.

His eyes, a searching look in them, met hers. Whatever he saw there must have satisfied him, because he surged forward, kissing her hungrily. 

As Kylo’s tongue explored her mouth, Rey ran her fingers through his long, dark hair. She pulled away for a breath, and he attempted to pull her shirt aside. 

Rey laughed. "Only if you take yours off, too." she said with a wink. 

Kylo snorted, but he removed his cloak and shirt, so Rey wiggled out of her multiple layers and threw them to the side before she began kissing him again. He pulled back, though, in order to examine her breasts— and "examine" certainly felt like the right word. She’d never had anyone look at any part of her so closely, so carefully, like he was documenting every inch of her as he ran his fingers over her skin with a feather-light touch.

He ran his fingers over her nipples and she shivered, sucking in a breath. He looked at her, a spark of mischief in his eyes, and repeated the action.

" _Fuck_ ," Rey breathed, and leaned up to kiss him again. "Now, are you going to let me touch you or not?" she added.

Before he could even answer, Rey ran her hands over has body— he was muscular, and solidly built under all those robes he wore. She worked at the buttons on his pants, finally freeing his cock.

"There we go," she said, with a smirk. She pumped it a handful of times, and Kylo Ren groaned.

She savored that sound. Kylo Ren, terror of the galaxy, coming apart for _her_.

"Wait," he said. "I don’t want to—"

"Then you should help me out of these." Rey began unbuttoning her pants. 

In the blink of an eye, they were both naked, and she was guiding his cock into her. She rolled her hips, and he whimpered. She rode him like that, savoring the moment until he came, biting her shoulder as he rode through his orgasm.

He groaned, and rolled off of her. "Aren’t you going to help me finish?" she asked, pulling his hand down to her clit. She guided his fingers until they’d found a good rhythm. And finally, she came, lying on the floor next to Kylo Ren.

* * *

Much later, Rey was alone again with the files she had copied from General Hux. So far, they’d all been innocuous, but this one—

Rey closed her eyes, willing herself to be wrong about what was on the screen. This wasn’t what she’d wanted to find. She’d wanted some kind of personal scandal, or some kind of evidence that Hux wasn’t as dedicated to the Empire as he appeared.

If anything, it seemed he was _more_ dedicated to the Empire than he appeared.

Hux had taken it upon himself to infiltrate the Resistance— the current incarnation of the Rebellion that had so long been a thorn in the Emperor’s side— without any orders from the Emperor. He had reports from half a dozen spies he had hired: information on troop movements, secret bases, leadership structure, recruitment strategies, and more. 

More damning, there was a plan Hux had begun to outline for how to destroy the Resistance.

Maybe this would mean nothing at all. Maybe the Emperor would be impressed with his initiative. Or maybe it would be seen as political maneuvering to take power from the Emperor.

This was exactly what Kylo had been looking for. 

But— 

This was a good plan. Even if Hux was punished for creating it without the Emperor’s permission, someone would probably be assigned to carry out the plan. The Resistance would be crushed.

Rey had never thought of herself as someone who cared about politics. The galaxy was ruled by an Empire, and it had been that way since before she was born. The Resistance, and the Rebellion before it, were fighting the inevitable.

But—

She’d flown through the asteroid field that had been left behind by the destruction of Alderaan. She’d been to Empire Day celebrations where the better part of the population dressed in white, to echo Leia Organa. She’d helped smuggle weapons and food to fighters in the Outer Rim that she’d resolutely not asked any questions of.

Rey didn’t think she was a good person. But she didn’t want to think she was the kind of person who stood aside and allowed thousands of people to be killed.

She looked longingly at her bed, sighed, and went back to work on the panel next to her door.

* * *

After an hour of trying to remove the panel so she could unlock the door by hand, Rey realized she might have another option. She stood in front of the door, eyes closed, and _concentrated_ , reaching for what she’d felt earlier when she’d meditated.

 _Please_ , she thought. _Just let me unlock this door._

The door didn’t just unlock— it exploded, shattering forcefully outwards and taking the stormtrooper guards with it. Rey stood there, stunned, before realizing that she needed to run. Someone would be here quickly to investigate, and with her luck, it would probably be Kylo Ren.

She grabbed the datastick, tucked it into her pocket, and ran. She may as well have been blind; she had only the faintest idea of where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to get into another ship and get _away_.

It was pure luck— or maybe something else— that guided her. As she ran down the _Finalizer’_ s gangplank and into the hangar bay of Starkiller Base, she could hear the alarms in the _Finalizer_ begin to sound.

She looked around the hangar for a ship. Most of them were too big for her purposes. But there, on the far side of the bay, was a fleet of sleek black TIE fighters, all shined-up and ready to go.

Rey made her way across the hangar, dashing between ships and hiding behind them for cover. Finally, she reached the fleet of TIEs.

She’d never flown one before, but she wasn’t worried about that. She’d pick it up as she went along. Technically they were two-person ships, but that was better than trying to fly a fifty-person ship on her own.

She climbed in the TIE and started it up. There was some shouting and confusion as she took off, and they started to close the hangar doors— but even in an unfamiliar ship, Rey was too fast for them.

Just before she jumped into hyperspace, she felt an echo in the Force, like someone screaming in rage.

* * *

The Resistance base was exactly where Hux’s files had said, housed in a series of retrofitted mining tunnels on Crait.

She approached with caution, and was hailed before she even caught sight of the base.

"This is Rey of Jakku," she said over the comm. She rarely used that designation, but it seemed appropriate here. "I’m alone, and I’m bringing information for the Resistance."

It took a few minutes, during which Rey assumed the person at the comm was consulting with his superiors. But finally, she was allowed to land.

The hangar looked like every other hangar she’d seen, on dozens of other worlds. Or, it did except for the handful of ragged soldiers pointing blasters at her.

Rey raised her hands above her head. "I’m unarmed," she said. "I’m really just here to talk."

Well, first they had to check that she really was unarmed, and then they had to escort her to a small, dark room where she waited endlessly for someone to come and talk to her.

They did feed her, though, which was nice. She hadn’t exactly packed before she escaped.

Finally, an aristocratic woman, her graying hair pulled into a sophisticated updo, entered the room, and sat down across the table from Rey.

Rey did a double-take. She knew this woman— or rather, she knew of her. Everyone who’d ever seen a holovid knew of her. She was older than she'd been in those old vids, but it was unmistakably still her. 

"Leia Organa?" Rey whispered.

"In the flesh." She smiled wryly. "Now, I understand you have information for me?"

Rey pulled the datastick out of her pocket and placed it on the table. "I stole this information from General Hux."

To her credit, General Organa barely blinked at this. "May I ask how you managed to do that?"

Rey glanced away. "It’s complicated."

Silence hung heavy in the air.

"I was in jail," Rey said. "Kylo Ren promised me amnesty if I found information on General Hux that could ruin him." 

General Organa leaned back, closing her eyes. She didn’t ask Rey to elaborate further, although she could probably guess the details.

Instead, Organa asked, "How did you escape?"

Rey hesitated. But there had been rumors about Leia Organa— and besides, she’d known Luke Skywalker. 

"I used the Force," Rey said. "That’s what got me arrested in the first place, actually. I didn’t know that’s what it was, but Kylo Ren said—" She cut herself off. Better not to go down that route now. "Anyway. I managed to blow up the door."

This time, General Organa _did_ look surprised. "Nicely done."

"I was trying to unlock it," Rey confessed.

Organa laughed.

* * *

The Resistance was quickly evacuated, and Hux’s spies were dealt with. General Organa didn’t tell Rey the details, and she didn’t ask. 

She’d already been too involved with politics for her own liking.

The group stationed at Crait was the last to evacuate. Organa gave Rey a ship of her own, an old transport ship that would get her wherever she wanted to go next.

She watched as the last Resistance fighter flew into hyperspace, and climbed into her new ship. Where did she want to go next?

Rey had just cleared atmosphere and was plotting a jump to Corellia— she had a few contacts on-planet there— when a dozen Imperial fighters dropped out of hyperspace.

"Surrender, or be destroyed," a familiar voice said over the comm.

* * *

Rey was back inside of a cell, after all the work she’d done to escape getting thrown back in here in the first place.

She leaned against the wall, her arms crossed, attempting to look casual. 

General Hux was pacing the corridor in front of her door, ranting and raving about her. Or at her. It was a little hard to tell. She’d tuned out sometime after he accused her of being a traitor to the glorious Empire for a third time.

Hard to be a traitor when you’d never believed in the cause in the first place.

She did tune in long enough to catch the part where he told her the punishment for her crimes, though. 

"As a traitor to the Empire, you will be brought back to Starkiller Base, where you will be executed for your crimes," he said.

"I’ve heard that one before," Rey said. 

Hux snarled at her before stomping away.

Rey slid down the wall, hugging her knees to her chest. She was going to be executed. And this time, there would be no last-minute salvation. 

* * *

Rey sat alone in her cell for a day before troopers came to escort her to a virtually identical cell on Starkiller Base. There, she waited for another three days, not knowing when her execution was or if it had been scheduled yet.

Maybe they’d forgotten about her. Maybe that would be preferable than whatever terrible way the Empire had of executing prisoners. (She’d heard all the rumors, but did anyone _really_ know?)

There was a noise in the corridor— the sound of a footfall— and she turned around.

Kylo Ren stood there, sans mask. "When I asked you to ruin Hux, I didn’t mean for you to steal his files and use them against the Empire," he said.

Rey shrugged. "It seemed like the thing to do," she said.

They looked at each other for a long moment, and Rey marveled that she had thought he was easy to read. His face seemed as blank and closed off to her as his mask ever had.

Slowly, he opened the cell door. "There’s a ship waiting for you in the hangar. A freighter. Two corridors down and one to the left. No one will stop you."

"What do you want?" she asked.

He stepped closer to her, just within reach. "I want you to live."

She leaned up and kissed him, twining her fingers through his hair, bruising her lips against his.

They pulled apart, and he looked into her eyes.

She wondered what he was looking for.

 _Come with me_ , she wanted to say.

_You don’t owe the Emperor anything._

_Teach me about the Force._

Instead, she pressed his hands in hers, then released them. She walked toward the ship— her new ship— and she didn’t look back.

**Author's Note:**

> Kylo’s philosophy of the Force is twisted, but that’s because he works for Palpatine. I know that this isn’t how the Force works.
> 
> [Find me on tumblr!](http://saiditallbefore.tumblr.com/post/177362504483/resurrection-and-ruin-saiditallbefore-star)


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